Heel-builder



T. LUND.

HEYEL BUILDER. APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1915.

Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M /bless JIM/verdan- T. LUND. HEE L BUILDER. APPLICATION FILED APR.29,I9I5.

Patented Feb. 10,1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2. a

MiZ'Iw-SS T. LUND.

HEEL BUILDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.29, 1915.

330,544 Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3- T. lUND'.

HEEL BUILDER. APPLICATION FILED APR. 29. 1915'.

. Patented Feb. 10, 1920. 4

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' To all whom it may concern:

* "UNITED sTAT s PATENT oEEion THOMAS LUND, 0E BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS; 'ro UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, rPATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A GOR- PORA'I'ION OF NEW JERSEY.

HEEL-BUILDER.

Be it known that I, THOMAS LUND, a citi zen of the United States,residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements do'hereby declareclear, and exact tion, such as will art to which it appertains the same.

This invention relates to a machine in which lifts or layers of leather,leatherthe following to be a full, description of the invento make anduse board, or other suitable material are assembled to form heel-pilesor heels.

In machines of the kind in question it has heretofore been proposed toemploy av series of receptacles which hold heel-lifts graded as to size,mechanism forwithdrawmg lifts from the several receptacles in order, andfor assembling these lifts together, thus building up a heel-pile of therequired form.

The present invention relates to machines of the same general type, butis designed to produce a machine in which heel-piles may be producedfrom suitably graded blanks or lifts, either automatically or at thewill of the operator, by a selective operation such that the number oflifts with drawn from the graded supply, and the sizes of the lifts soselected, may be readily varied orpredetermined, thus permitting theproduction of heel-piles of different sizes and styles from the samesupply, that is,

without the necessity of changing the sizes of the lifts in the severalreceptacles. This constitutes one object of theinvention.

To the foregoing end it is proposed to employ, in connection with a seies of containers or'receptacles holding lifts of graded sizes,mechanism for withdrawing and assembling the lifts, this mechanism-beingoperable, either automatically or under manual control, to withdrawliftsnot necessarily in the order of'theseries-of receptacles but in otherorders which may be mechanically determined in the case of anautomatically operating machine, or selected at the will of the operatorin a manually controlled Ina chine.

Another object of the invention is to pro duce a inachme 111 which theheel-lifts or blanks are. held in vertical stacks 1n. the

supply-receptacles, but in which they are enable others skilled in theand to provide automatic I Specificationof Letters Patent. Patented-Feb, 10, 1920. Application filed April 29, 1915. Serial Nd. 2 il assembled against a verti'cal holder, that is, wlth the hftslying invertical planes. To this endthe invention includes an'arrange Inent inwhich the means which transfer the I lifts from thesupply-receptacles tothe pile-' in Heel-Builders; and I" holder are arranged to impartaquartertransferring operation.

Other objects of 1 the invention, and the features of constructionwhichthey' are attained, will. be pointed outv hereinafter inconnectionwith the description of the illustrated embodiment of theinvention. The preferred form of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a planof a machine embodying the present invention;

machine;

Fig. 3 is a left-hand side-elevation ofa portion of thecontrolling-mechanism of the machine, on a larger scale than the preceding figures; f i

Fig. 4: is a'side' elevation, showing in de-. tail thetransfer-mechanismand a portion of the ejecting-"mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a plan, ona largerscale than Fig. 4f, showing particularly thBtIaIISfBY-j Q 85 mechanlsm Fig. 6 is a partial vertical section on theline 6 6 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a rear-elevation, partly inlsection, showing in detail a partof the trip-mechanism for controlling the transfenmechanism; ,5

Fig. 8 is a horizontalsection showing a. portion of theselecting-mechanism r Fig. 9 is adetail, in left-hand sideelevation andpartly in section, showing a" portion of the controlling-mechanism; and

Fig. 10 is a detail from Fig; 2 on-a larger scale; .7 r The inventionis'lill'ustrated as embodied in a heel-buildingmachine adapted to holdheel-blanks of eight graded sizes and. to assemble these heel-blanks ina number and. orderwhich may be determined either bymanually operablemeans or by automatic means. 1

. The machine isvprovidedwith a series of, blank-receptacles '10, shownparticularly in Fig-.2, afplate or-holder 11 against which the blanksare'assembled, a transfer-mechanism 12 by which the heels are removedFig. 2 is a left handside-elevation of the 75 fromthereceptacles andcarried to and assembled on the holder 11, pasting-mechanism 13 by whichpaste is applied to the blanks durin the transferring operation, and acontrol ing-means or key-mechanism which may include a series of fingerkeys 14, by which the selecting action of the machine may be controlledeither auto sive sense, are held in a vertical stack between theside-members, and are retained, in front, by nwardly pro ecting flanges21 on the side-members. In order that each receptacle maybe adjustableto some eX- tent to adapt it to receive lifts of dilferent sizes, ascrew-threaded rod, 18 is pivoted to each side-member and passesre'arwardly through the upright 17, a spring 19, coiled around the rod,is interposed between the upright and the corresponding side-member, andan adjusting-nut 20 is screwed on the rear end of the rod. By turningthe nuts 20 the SlClG-TliliiblS may be swung toward or from eachotherand fixed in their adjusted positions, thus adapting the receptacle toreceive lifts of different widths. 7

Each stack of lifts is supported, at the bottom, by a thin plate 22projecting forwardly from the upright 17, and, as shown in Fig; 2, theplate 22 is spaced below the lower edges of the side-members at asufficient distance to permit the lowermost lift of the stack to bewithdrawn, by a horizontal or edgewise movement, at the front of thereceptacle.

The construction of the transfer-mechanism indicated generally, in Fig.2, by the number 12, is shown particularly in Figs. 4. and 5. A'plate 23is carried by a block 2% fixed on the upper end of a plunger 25. Thelift which is transferred lies flat upon this plate, with itsbreast-edge against two lugs 26 which project upwardly from the frontedge of the plate. In order to center the lift and clamp it in positionon the plate while it is being applied to the holder 11,

two clamping-pins 27 are mounted upon bell crank levers 28, these.levers being arranged to swing below the plate 2301i pivot-screws 29,andthe pins project upwardly through curved slots in the plate, as shownin Fig. 5. The adjacent ends of the two levers are arranged inoverlapping position, and have coincident elongated slots'engaged by apin 31'. This pin projects upwardly from a sliderod '32, which moveshorizontally through; the block 24. A spring 33, coiled about the rodand engaging-a shoulder thereon, tends The movements of the slide-rod 32are controlled by lever 35, which is pivotally mounted on the rear ofthe plunger 25, the upper end of this lever being aiticulated with therod 32, while its lower end is pro- I vided with a beveled surface 36and a tooth 37. This surface and tooth cooperate with an oppositelybeveled tooth 3 1- at the up, er end of a sleeve 38 in which the plungeris mounted to slide vertically. The sleeve 38 is provided, at its upperend, with trunnions 39 having hearings in lugs 40 projecting upwardlyfrom a slide ll. This slide travels horizontally upon a guideway 43Lspring 43, coiled about one of the trunnions 39, tends to rock thesleeve 38 in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen'in Fig. 4-, and asthis movement is arrested by the engagement of the lower end of thesleeve with a part 78, hereinafter described, the spring normally holdsth sleeve in the upright position shown in Figs. 2 and l. 7 W 1thin thesleeve 38 a spring it is coiled around the plunger 25, and thisspringengages, at

its upper end, a shoulder on the plunger the position shown in Figs. 2ands, being the tooth 37 on held so by the engagement of 1 I tne lever35 with the tooth 34- on the sleeve 38. In the same way the lever 35 isheld with its upper end in a'forward position, so

that the'slide-rod 32 is held in a forward position and the clamp pins27 are in their retracted or outer position. During the last part of therearward movement of the slide,

however, the upper end of the lever is brought into engagement with anadjustable stop-screw d6, whereby the lever is swung in a direction todisengage the teeth 34; and 37,

thereby permitting the spring id to raise the plate 23 against theplate22 and thus bring theclamp pins-27 intoia position in which they spanthe edges of the lowermost lift in thestaclr. Upon the succeedingforwardmovementof the transfer-mechanism the upper end of the lever 35 is movedout of cooperative relation with the stop-screw 46 so that the spring 33is free to move the lift is pressed either the holder,

slide-rod 32-ai1d close the clamp-pins upon As the forward movement provdownwardly and forwardly into the vertical position which it will occupyon theholder. For this purpose a cam L7 is mounted on the guideway 42,in position to coopernte with a cam-roller is mounted at the front ofthe sleeve 38, as shown in Fig. t. The guideway 42 is slotted in itsrear portion, to permit the sleeve to move through it in the verticalposition of Fig.4, but during the forward movement of the parts theroller 48 encounters the curved rear end of the cam, and the sleeve isthus rocked about the 'trunnions 39 to a horizontal position, thusswinging the plate 23 into a vertical position, and at the completion ofthe forward movement the against the holder 11, or against the surfaceof a lift which has been previously appliedto the holder, with apressure which is regulated by the spring At the same time the plunger'25 is pressec inwardly in the sleeve 38, thus bringing the lower end ofthe lever 35 into cooperative relation with the tooth 34 on the sleeve,whereby the clamp-pins are disengaged from the lift and the plunger islocked in its retracted position. The lift is thus released, and uponthe succeeding rearward movement of the transfer-mechanism 1s left inposition onthe holder.

The firstlift transferred to the holder 11 is temporarily'retained'thereon by means of short points 50 projecting from the faceof while the succeeding lifts are secured to the first lift, and to eachother, by paste which has been applied to them by the pasting-devicesindicated generally in Fig. 2 by thenumber 13. i

0 1 The illustrated pastlng-devices comprlse is ournaled 111.

a roller 51, (Fig. 2) which slide-rods 52 movable vertically in bracketsprojecting the machine. Paste is supplied to the surface of the roller51 from areservoir 54 supported, above the roller, on the slide-r ds 52.The roller is normally supported'at such a level" that it will beengaged by the upper surface'of a lift carried movement of thetransfer-mechanism.

In order to prevent the application of paste to the first lift whichapplied to the holder 11, means are provided for raising the pastcnoller51 automatically out of operative position when the firstlift-receptacle is inoperative position. he lower end of one of theslides 52, by which the paste-roller is supportech'rests on the forwardend of a lever 262 which is pivoted on one of the brackets 58, as shownin Fig. 2, and-the rear vertical, guideway in which upwardly from theframe of beneath it by the arm of the lever bears normally against astop-screw'266 which is adjustable to vary the height of thepaste-roller when it is in its operative position. Anarm 270 projectsfrom the right-hand end of the upright 17 as shown in Fig. 1, and acam-block 268 is fixed to this arm, in such a position that thecam-block will engage and depress the rear ond of the lever 262 when thefirst lift-receptacle is in operative position, thus causing the leverto liftthe paste-roller and prevent it from being engaged by the liftwithdrawn from the receptacle. In case it be desired to commence thebuilding ofthe heelblock with a lift from any of the otherreceptacles,the cam-block 268"may be shaft'ca'rries a pulley 58, by which it maybe.-

connected with any suitable source of power.

The pulley rotates freely on thepower-shaft,

but a pinion 60 is fixed to the pulley (Fig. 8), and this pinion drivesa geanwheel 62 (Fig. 1) which turns loosely on a counter shaft 64:journaled in the frame of the machine. T he countershaft is providedwith a crank 66 (Fig. 6) connected, through a slideblock 68 (Fig. 3)with a lever'70 having a j the block- 68 slides. This lever is mounted,at its lower end, on a pivot 72 carried by a bracket 7 L depending fromthe frame of the machine. A second slide-block 7 6 (Fig. 4:) is pivotedto the upper end of the lever 70, and this block moves in a guideway 78depending from the slide 4:1. Owing to this arrangement each rotation ofthe countershaft 64: causes the slide 41 and the other parts ofthetransfer-mechanism to perform a complete cycle of operations as abovedescribed. The

countershaft 64 is not normally in rotation but is, controlled by meanshereinafter described, including a Horton clutch, by which it may beconnected 1 intermittently with the gear-wheel 62.

Since the path of movement of the trans fer-mechanism is fixed, theselective cooperation of this mechanism with the differentlift-receptacles is accomplished by moving the receptacles transverselyto bring them moved to and fixed'ln any suitcble position on the,

successively into operative position for the removal of the lifts. Forthis purpose the upright 17is mounted'on a slide 80 (Fig. 2),

which moves in a dove-tailed guideway '82 on the frame of the machme.The slide 1s moved by the engagement of a roller 84:,

.mounted on the bottom of the slide, with a cam-path 85, in theiform ofahelical groove, cut in thesu'rface'of: a cylinder 86. (See Fig. 1-)This cylinder is mounted on a shaft 88 (Fig. 2) having hearings in theframe of the machine. By rotating the cylinder to a sufficient degreeany one of the lift-re ceptacles may be brought into operative position.

T he cylinder 86 is rotated, in the perforn'lance of the selectiveoperation, with a stepby-step movement, b means of a Geneva The cam-path85 passes helically around s mewhat more than half of the cylinder inone direction, and thn returns in the oppoction so as to move the slide80 back site .dir

to its original position, andsince this returnmovement is made af r allof the lift-receptacles have been brought uccessively into operativeposition, it is performed completely without into. 30% the cam-cylinderis provided, .atits left-hand end, with a segmental gear wnzchcooperates with a pinion 96 mounted on power shaft 56 and integral withthe pinion 0 1, shown best in Fig. 8.

The powershaft is not normally rotated h the pulley 58, but is provided,as shown in 8, with a toothed clutch-member 98, and asecondclutch-member 100 (see also Fig. 3) is mounted on the shaft, witha'keyand-groove connection, so that it may be thrown into and out ofengagement with the member 98. A spring 102 tends to engage theclutch-members, but the member 100 is controlled by a forked lever 104vwhich is mounted on a pivot 106 (Fig. 3) on the frame of the machine.

The clutch just described is through the lever 10%, by mean be actuatedby the finger keys (F 1) so as to cause the cylinder 86 to be rotated tobring the several liftreceptacles selectively into operative position.For this purpose the lever 10% cooperates, at its upper end, with abeveled block 108 (Figs. 1, 2 and 8} which is fixed on a slide-rod 110.Thisrod moves through bearings 112 and 114 on the lever 116, which ismounted at its forward end on a pivot 118 on the frame of the machine.The rear end of the rod 110 cooperates with a segment 120 (Fig. 2) fixedto rotate with the cylinder 86, this segment having a series of steppedshoulders 122.

The key-mechanism may comprise, for

controlled, which m av manual operation, a plurality offingerdreys 1deach. of which, is carried by; a key-lever cooperation with the transfermocha 111811..

nation. For this pm 124, these levers. being all transversely in the,frame of the machine. Projecting upwardly from each key-lever is alifter-arm 1.28, and springs 180, connecting each lifterarm with'theframe of the machine, holdthe keydeversandthe keys normally in raisedposition. I

The lever 116 forms one member of a yoke-like frame having arm 181, asshown in Fig. 1, parallel with the lever'116,;and also pivoted on therod 118. Betweenthe lever 116 and the arm 131a rod 132 extends, this rodbeing providedwith a; roller-sleeve 133 which ig loeated adjacent theupperends of the lifter-arms 128. Whenever anyone of the spendinglifter-arm moves forwardly beheath the roller 133 and; engages andraises this roller, thus swinging upwardly the lever 116, and as thelifter-a1ansare ofgraduated lengths, agshown in Figs. 3 and 9,the'distance through which the'leveris raised depends upon whichkey-lever isactuated.

T he rising movementimparted to the lever 116 as just described causesthe-rear-end of the slide-rod 110 to be lifted out of engagement withany one of the; shoulders 1222 on the segment 120 with. whichit may heatthe time in engagement, thus releasing the rod for rearward longitudinalmovement. Such movement is then at once producedby 'a spring 136 whichis coiled around the rod and engages, at one end,- the bearing 112, andat the other end the beveled block 108. this movement being limited by astop-collar 188, near the forward end of the rod, which is brought intoengagement with the-bear ing 112.

Then the block 108 is moved rearwardly with the rod 110 it releases theupper end of the clutch-lever 104:, sothat the clutch spring 102 canengage the clutclrmember 98 and 100, thereby'causing the pinions 9 1 and96 to be actuated, and the cylinder86 to be rotated in the directionofthe arrow in Fig. 2. The extent of this rotation depends upon thedegree to which the lever 116 and the rod110 have been raised. If theyhave been raised only enough to clear one of the shoulders 122, therotation of the cylinder continues through one rotation of the Genevapinion 94, but near the end of this rotation adjacent shoulder 12:2engages the end ofthe rod 110 and thrusts the rod forwardly,thusoperating the clutch-lever 10-1 and causing it to again disengage theclutch. This is what occurs when the operator has pressed a key nextadjacent to the one which was previously pressed, so that the lever'116has been raised only through a space correspondpivoted loosely. upon arock-shaft 126 (Fig. 3) mounted.

the next a beveled extremity 146.

be rotated by more than one rotation of the pinion 94, thus causing aselective movement of the lift-receptacles by which one or more of thesereceptacles is moved idly past the operative position. In this mannerthe operator may cause the machine to select lifts I either from all thereceptacles in succession or from only a portion of these receptaclesand in any cesired sequence.

In order that it may be unnecessary for the operator to hold the keyindepressed position during the responsive operations of the machine, afixed to the rear end of the lever 116, in position to cooperate with apawl 142. This pawl is mounted on a pivot 144 on the frame of themachine, and has a depend'ingarm with Cooperating with this extremity isa spring-pressed plunger 148. This plunger acts, when the parts are inthe position of Fig. 2, to maintain the pawl in cooperative engagementwith the ratchetbar, but when the pawl is swungrearwardly to an extentgreater than that necessary to permit it to ride over the ratchet-teeth,the plunger 148 may engage the rear surface of the extremity 146, andthereafter the pawl will be held out of engagement with the ratchetteeth. This extreme swinging movement of the pawl iscaused by aprojection 150, at the lower end of the ratchet-bar, which is broughtinto engagement with the pawl when the lever 116 has been raised to itsextreme up-v ward position, in which the rod 110 is disengaged from thehighest shoulder 122 on the segment 120. This action occurs when thelast of the keys 14 is pressed, this key being designated as the Finishkey andbeing pressed always at the completion of the operation ofbuilding a heel.

The result of the arrangement just described is to cause the pawl toretain the lever 116 in any position to which ithas been raised untilthe finish key has been pressed, and then to permit the lever and therod 110 to fall to their original lowermost position,

i in which the rod 110 may be engaged by the first and lowermost of theshoulders 122. The shoulders are so located that when the rod 110 isdisengaged from the last and highest shoulder the gear-segment'92 hasbeen brought into position to cooperate with the pinion 96, while theGeneva-stop pinion 94 has reached the end of the cooperating teeth andsurfaces 90 on the cylinder, and accordingly the cylinder is given arapid and continuous rotative'movement by the pinion 96, to bring theslide 80 and the lift-receptacles back to their original position, thismovement being arrested by engagement of the first stop-shoulder 122with the rod 110 when the parts are in a position such that the first orNo. 1 lift-receptacle is in cooperative relation with thetransfer-mechanism. When the lever 116' descends to this, lowermostbefore referred to. 3 and 6) has an outer member 154 integralratchet-bar 140 (Figs. 2 and 10) is described.

' stud '166.

point, as just described, the lower end of the ratchet-bar 140 engagesthe lower extremity 146 of the pawland swings the'pawl back intooperative position, so that it may again act to retain the lever 116after its next succeeding rising movement.

After each' selective operation an operative movement of thetransfer-mechanism must be produced, and this is accomplished throughthe action of the Horton clutch This clutch (see Figs.

with the gear 62, and an inner member 156 keyed to thecountershaft 64,these members being connected, in the usual manner, by

friction-rollers 158. As clutches of this kind are well known, theconstruction of the present clutch is not completely-illustrated, but itwill be understood that the clutch is provided with the usual rotatablecontroller 160 having a stop-lug 162 which cooperates with a detent-arm164, as shown in Fig.

3. The detent-arm is mounted to rock onastud 166 (Figs. 3 and 7') fixedon the frame of the machine, and is provided with a lug 168 perforatedto loosely embrace a screw 172 rising from the frame of the machine. Aspring 170 coiled about this screw presses the lug downwardly, so as toswing the detent-arm downwardly into operative position, this'downwardmovement being limited by a collar 174 on the screw. When the detent-armis momentarily raised so as to disengage it from the stop-lug 162, thecontroller 160 permits'the clutch to connect the shaft 64 with the gear62, so that a rotation maybeimparted to the shaft, this rotative-movement being arrested, however, when the stop-lug again engages thedetent-a'rm. This single rotation, through the action of the crank 66,.causes the transferrmechanism to perform its cycle of operations asbefore described.

The action of the Horton clut h is controlled automaticallv so as tooccur at the completion of the selective movement before to cooperatewith a lever 17 8 (Figs. 3 and 7) which is mounted to swing loosely onthe This levercarries a pivot-stud 184, upon'which a hook-shaped latch182 is mounted in position to cooperate with a trip-lug 188 projectingupwardly from the detent-arm 164. "A spring 190, attached to a pinprojecting downwardly from the hub of the lever 178', acts, when the rod110 moves rearwardly, to rock the lever in a direction to permit thelatch 182 to ride over and operativelv engage the trip-lug 188.

Forthis purpose the forward end 176 of the slide-rod 110 is arrangedUpon a succeeding return-movement of the the lever 178 forwardly, toswing the trip detent arm. with a lug rod 110' it swings thus causingthe latch lug forwardly. and thus raise the The latch is provided,however,

"128 when they are swung forwardly in consequence of the depression ofthe key-levers.

192 which depends intoposition to engage a stop-screw 194 on the frameof the machine, so that at the completion of the movement of the lever178 the latchis raised from engagement with the'trip lug,'therebypermitting the detent-arm to be depressed again into position todisengage the Horton clutch.

In some cases it is desirable to build a heel having two or moreadjacent lifts of thesame size, and the present machine is sooonstrruted that lifts may be talren successively from the same supplyreceptacle. In

' such case the Horton clutch must be caused By-such engagement the rodand the arms are swung forwardly, or to the right as seen in Fig. 3.This movement is communicated, by the arni292, to a trip-bar 226 ofwhich the rearend is pivoted to the arm, and this bar is provided with ashoulder 228 (see dotted lines Fig. 3) adapted to cooperate with thetrip-lug 188 and thus to raise thedete'nt-a-rm; The trip-bar has abeveled surface 230 on its forward end, which rests upon a 'diskf282fixed on the frame of the machine,- so that the movement'of thebarrauses it also to swing upwardly and thus disengage the shoulder 228from the trip-lug after sufiicient movement has been imparted to thelatter to trip the Horton clutch. When the key lever, by which the partsjustdescribed have been a tuated, is released, the trip-bar 226, the arm222 and the rock-shaft are returned to normal pcsition'by a spring 233connected between a piifon'theinner side of the bar 226, and a pin onthe frame (see Fig. 3). The dish is mounted eccentrically and fixed inposition by a nut234, so that it may be rotated for the purpose ofadjustment.

When the selecting-mechanisin is in operation it is obviously necessaryto prevent the supplementary trip-mechanism from throwing thetransfer-mechanism into operation at the moment of depressing thekey-lever. and for this purpose the lever 178 is provided with aforwardly projecting fiir ger 236 extending below the forward end of thetrip-bar 226 (seeFig; 3) so that when the lever 178 swings rearwardly,in come guence of a sliding movement of the rod 110. the trin b-ar islifted 'out' of operative relation with-the trip-lug 188. To 'pern'iit'mcans of adrum 98 (Figs. 1, 3

this action to occur before the trip-bar can 1 be moved sui'iiciently tocause it to act upon the trip-lug, suflicient lost motion is providedbetween each of the lifter-arms 128 and the rod 22 1 to permit thelifter-arms to nism' performed, and accordingly the lifterarincorresponding to the finish-key is cut away, as shown by a dotted linein Fig. 3, sufficiently to entirely avoid engagement ,with the rod 224.

.r or the reason ust stated it is necessary also to prevent the liortonclutch from being tripped by the rod 110 on its return movement afterthe finish-key has been pressed. For this purpose the latch 182 isprovided with an arm 196 (Figs. 8 and 7) which projects upwardly to aposition in which it will be engaged by the forward end of the rod 110when, but only when, this red is in its lowermost position,- namely,that position which it occupies when the rear end of the rod rests onthe surface 152 of least diameter on. the segment 120 (see Fig. In thiscase the rod,in moving forward, engages the arm 196, and this swings thelatch upward out of operative position before any movement: can beimparted by the latch. to the t"ip-lug 188 and the detent-arm; but upona succeeding op eration of the No. 1 key, or any other of the numberedkeys, the rod 110 is raised clear of the upper end of the arm 196. f

' In case it is desired to have the operation of the machine entirelyautomatic, the keymechanism is operated mechanically by and 6) mountedupon the countershaft 6a and provided with pins 200 arranged tocooperate with depending arms 220 which are carried by the key-levers.These pins may be secured in the drum. in such numbers and positions asto actuate the hey-levers in a manner to select the lifts to the numberand in the order which may be do red. To rotate the drum 198 it isprovided at one end, as shown. in Figs. 2 and 6,- with a ratchet-wheel20:2 which is engaged by ah ooh-shaped pawl 20%.. This pawl ispivotec ona lever 208 of which the lower end is pivoted on the bracket 7%. Theupper end of theleVerQOS bearsagainst an eccentric vfixed on thecountershaft 64. A spring 2.10 holds the pawl in engagement with thera'tchet-wheel, while a spring 216, coiled about a plunger 218which ispivoted to the lever 208,'holds the lever in engagement with theeccentric. This arrangement is such that at each rotation. ofthecountershaft, produced by the Horton clutch in the performance of thetransferring operation, the drum is rotated through one-tenth of arotation, and the pins 200 are so spaced that this movement issufficient to bring them successively into engagement with one oranother of the arms 220. When the automatic operation is not desired thespring 210 may be disengaged from the pawl, so as to throw the pawl outof operative engagement with the ratchetwheel. Of course, if desired toconstruct the machine for automatic operation only, the key-levers 12 iand finger-keys 14 may be omitted, since these parts of the keymechanismare useful only for manual control.

After a heel-pile has been completely built on the holder 11 it isautomatically re leased therefrom, and ejected from the machine, bymeans whichwill now be described. A plunger 240 (Fig. i) is mounted toslide through the holder, and is pressed forwardly by a coiled spring242. This plunger, or clearer, is actuated by an ejector comprising anarm 244 which is fixed to the forward end of a rock-shaft 246 (Fig. 2)journaled in the frame of the machine. An arm 248 at the rear end of therock-shaft is con nected, by a link 250, with a lever 252 (Fig. 1) whichis pivoted, at its middle, on the frame of the machine, and whichcarries a roller 254 at its lower end. This roller engages a cam-path256 formed in the righthand end of the cam-cylinder 86, and thiscam-path has a portion, lines in Fig. 1, arranged to move the camrollerand cause the arm 244: to be swung to the right, (viewing Fig, 1 at asuitable time in the operation of the machine. The ejector-arm 24a isprovided, on its rear sur face, with a cam-projection 258 (Fig. 1) whichengages the head of the clearer 240 and presses it rearwardly, thuspushing the heel-pile free from the points 50 on the holder 11. By acontinuation of the same movement the U-shaped extremity 260 of theejectonarm is caused to engage the heelpile laterally, and knock it awayfrom the machine.

The operation of the machine as a whole is as follows: Assuming that itis to be controlled manually, the operator presses the key correspondingto the size of the first lift which is to be employed, this lift beingusually the largest in the heel-pile. The selecting-mechanism thereuponoperates, by a. partial rotation of the cam-cylinder, to move thesupply-receptacles automatically into position in which the properreceptacle is in pos tion for the operation thereon of thetransfer-mechanism. Upon the completion of this movement the Hortonclutch is automatically thrown into operation, to causethetransfer-mechanism to move rearwardly to the selected receptacle,withdraw shown in dottedin the course of the transferring operation,

a lift being shown in place on the plate 23.

i If it be desired to use in the heel two lifts of the same size adjacentv each other, the operator may then press the same key again, inwhich case there will be no operation of the selecting-mechanism, butthe transfermechanism will at once operate again to transfer a secondlift. In cases where it is desired to use two lifts from-the firstreceptacle, the means for throwing the pasteroller out of operationcannot beemployed, 1

as in this case it is necessary toapply paste to the second of the twolifts, but where only a single lift from the first receptacle isrequired, this throw out mechanism may be used. Assumingthat a singlelift has been withdrawn from the first receptacle, and that it isdesired then to use a smaller lift,

the operator presses the key corresponding to the size of this secondlift, which may be either the No. 2 key or any succeeding key, accordingto circumstances. The selecting and transferring operation is thenrepeated as before, and two or more of this se ond size of lift may bedelivered to the heel-pile if desired, according to the form of the heelwhich is to be produced. After the last desired lift has been selectedand transferred, the operator presses upon the final rotat on isimparted to the camcylinder, which causes the ejectingmechanism to beoperated, and also returns the finish-key, wherethe receptacles to theirorig nal or normal in which the No. 1 receptacle is have a l ftwithdrawn from it at second heel-building pos tion, ready to thecommencement of a operation.

When the ma hine is to be operated automatically the foregoingoperations occur in the same manner and order, except that manualmanipulation of the keys is obviated by the action of the automaticselectingmechanism, and in this case the machine may operatecontinuously to produceheels until thrown out of operation, lifts beingsupplied to the receptacles as may be required to maintain the supply inthem.

The present machine has been illustrated as arranged to operate uponwhat are technically known as heel-lifts, such lifts being p eces'ofleather or other sheet-material whi h have been died out to thecurvilinear shape of a shoe heel. For this reason the machine has beendescribed as operating upon heeldifts, but it will be understood thatthe pieces of material from which a heel-pile is formed by the presentmachine need not necessarily have this particular form, but may beblanks or thicknesses of various forms suitable for composing a heelpilefrom which a heel may subsequently be formed, the modifications in theform of the parts of the machine necessary to accommodate blanks ofother forms being such as may readily be made by those skilled in theart; and accordingly it will be understood that in the following claimsthe term lift or heel-lift is not intended to limit the invention to amachine adapted only for operating upon blanks or thicknesses of heelmaterial of the particular form and character technically designated bythis term.

It will be clear to those skilled in this class of machines, with .thegeneral objects of the present invention in View, that changes may bemade in the details of structure, the described and illustratedembodiment thereof being intended as an exploitation of its underlyingessential, the features whereof are definitely stated in their truescope in the claims here-with.

What is claimed as new, is

l. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, means for holdingsupplies of lifts of graded characteristics; and means for selectinglifts therefrom, in a variable order other than that in which the liftsare graded, and for assembling the lifts in a heel-pile.

2. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, means for holdingsupplies of lifts of graded characteristics; and automatic means forselecting lifts therefrom, in a predetermined order different from thatin which the lifts are graded, and for assembling the lifts in aheel-pile.

3. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for lifts; a carrier adapted to remove the lifts from saidcontainers; and selective means for controlling the removal operation,to

' determine the sequence in which the carrier removes the lifts,

4-. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for lifts; a carrier adapted to remove lifts from saidcontainers; and automatic selective means, for controlling the removaloperation, to determine the sequence in which the carrier removes thelifts.

A heel-building machine, having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for holding lifts; a carrier adapted to remove a single liftfrom any one of the containers; and means for relatively moving thecarrier and the containers, to select in any sequence the containersfrom which the lifts shall be removed.

6, A heel-building machine, having, in

combination, a plurality of containers for lifts, a holder on which theheel-lifts may be assembled in the form of a heel; a carrier adapted toremove lifts from the containers and to assemble them on the holder; andmeans for selectively determining the containers from which the carrierremoves the several lift. in sequence. 7

7. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, means for holding astack of horizontally disposed lifts; a holder upon which the lifts maybe assembled in a vertical position into a heel-pile; anda carrierconstructed and arranged to remove lifts successively, edgewise, fromthe stack and to turn the lifts into vertical position and ap ply themto the holder in stacked forr-iation.

o. A heel-building machine, having, 1n

combination, means for holding a stack of horizontally disposed lifts; aholder upon which the lifts may be assembled in a vertical position; acarrier constructed and arranged to remove lifts successively, edgewise,from the stack and to turn the lifts into vertical position and applythem to the holder; andrmeans for applying adhesive to the lifts holder.I

9. A heelbuilding machine, having, in combination, means forholding asupply of lifts of graded characteristics; a holder on which 1 the liftsmay be assembled in the form of a heel-pile; and means for automaticallyand selectively discharging lifts from said supply to sand holder, in apre-' determined sequence other than that in which the lifts are graded.

10. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, means for holding asupply of lifts. of graded characteristics; means for removing liftstherefrom and assembling them in the formof a heel-pile; andkeymechanismfor selectively controlling the removal to determine the order in whichthe lifts are assembled.

11. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, a series ofcontainers for ifts; a holder on which the lifts may be assembled; acarrier; means for moving the containers past the carrier to bring itinto operative relation with the containers selectively; and means formoving the carrier from the containers to the holder to transfer liftsthereto.

12. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, a series ofcontainers for lifts; a holder on which the lifts may be assembled; acarrier; means for moving the containers past theca "ier to bring itinto. operative relation with the containers selectively; means formoving the carrier fron'r the contai. -ers to the holder to transferlifts thereto, and means for applying adhesive to the lifts on thecarrier during the transferring movement. i1

before their application to the Y 13. A heel-building machine, having,in combination, means for holding a stack of horizontally disposedlifts; means for removing a lift singly from the stack, with an edgewisemovement, and for thereafter turning it from its original horizontalposition and pressing it against a previously abstracted lift, and meansfor applying adhesive to the upper surface of each lift prior to suchturning movement.

1A. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, a series ofcontainers for lifts of graded characteristics; and means for removing aseries of lifts from the containers, said series comprising a singlelift from each of certain of the containers and a plurality of liftsfrom certain other of the containers, and for assembling the lifts soremoved in a predetermined order.

15. A heel-building machine, having, in combination, a container forholding lifts; a holder on which the lifts may be assembled in the formof a heel-pile; a carrier adapted to support a lift by engagement withits edges and one face; and means for moving the carrier in a directionto first remove a lift edgewise from the container and then force ittoward the holder in a direction normal to the plane of the lifts in theile.

16. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for holding lifts of difierent characteristics; and selectivemeans for removing lifts from any of said. containers in any desiredsequence.

17. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for holding lifts; a carrier adapted to remove a single liftfrom any one of the containers; and selective means for causing relativemovement between the carrier and the containers to bring the carrierinto operative relation with any predetermined container irrespective ofthe relative arrangement of the containers.

18. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a vertical containerfor holding a stack of lifts disposed one above the other in ahorizontal plane; and means acting successively upon the stacked liftsfor seizing and removing the lifts one by one from one end of the stackand, while retaining control thereof, turning them through a right angleinto a vertical plane.

19. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a vertical containerfor holding a stack of lifts disposed one above the other in ahorizontal plane; and means acting upon the stacked lifts for removingthe lifts from one end of the stack and stacking the removed lifts in anangularly positioned plane to form a heel-pile.

20. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a container forholding a plurality of lifts stacked in a predetermined plane; areceiving-member disposed substantially normal to said container inwhich the lifts may be stacked in a plane substantially normal to theinitial stacking plane; and means acting progressively upon the lifts inone end of said container for turning said lifts through a right angleand stacking them in said receiving member to form a heel-pile. v

21. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for holding lifts of different characteristics; a receivingmember on which the lifts may be assembled to form a heel-pile; andselective means for successively transferring the lifts from saidcontainers to said receiving member in any desired sequence.

22. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for holding, lifts; and means including a keymechanism forselectively removing lifts from any of said containers in any desiredsequence.

23. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for holding lifts; means including a key-mechanism forselectively removing lifts from any of said containers in any desiredsequence; and automatic means for controlling the operation of saidkey-mechanism.

24. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a row of containersfor holding lifts; means for removing lifts therefrom and assemblingthem in the form of a heel-pile; means for effecting relative movementin the line of said row of containers between said containers and saidremoving means to bring the removing means into operative relation withany container; and selective means embodying a key-mechanism fordeterming the relative movement of said containers and said removingmeans and the sequence in which the lifts are assembled.

25. A heel-building machine having, in combination, means for holdinglifts, a receiving member to which the lifts are transferred; areciprocating carrier for successively transferring the lifts from saidholding means to said receiving member to form a heel-pile; and meansacting upon said carrier for angularly turning the lifts during itstransferring movement.

26.. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a container forholding lifts; a receiving member to which the lifts are transferred; areciprocating carrier for sucessively transferring the lifts from saidcontainer to said receiving member and stacking them to form aheel-pile; means for rotating said carrier to angularly turn the liftsduring itstransferring movement; and means for ejecting the heel-pile soformed from said receiving member.

27. A heel-building machine having, in

combination a series of containers for lifts; means for removing liftsfrom said containers and selective means for causing said removing meansto successively take one or more lifts from any of said containers inany desired sequence.

28. A heel-building machine having, in combination, a movable roW ofcontainers for lifts, and adapted to be actuated in the direction of therow; a stationary lift-receiving member disposed in front of said row.of containers; and a movable carrier adapted to be reciprocated in aline normal to the direction of actuation of said row of containers fortransferring the lifts from said containers to said receiving member.

29. A heel building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for lifts, means for successively removing lifts,

one at a time, from any particular container during the formation of asingle heel, and means for determining the particular container uponWhich the removing means shall act.

30. A heel building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for lifts, and means for removing from the containers asufficient number of lifts to form a heel, said means being constructedand arranged to remove a plurality of said lifts in immediate successionfrom any particular container.

31. A heel building machine having, in

combination, a plurality of containers for lifts, and means for removingfrom the containers a sufficient number of lifts to form a heel, saidmeans 'being constructed and arranged to remove a plurality of saidlifts in immediate succession from each of one or more of saidcontainers.

32. A heel buildingmachine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for lifts, means for successively removing a plurality oflifts from one of the containers, and automatic means for causing saidremovin means to act upon the lifts in another container during theformation of a single heel.

33. A heel building machine having, in combination, a plurality ofcontainers for lifts, means for removing lifts therefrom and assemblingthem in a pile, and means for shifting the operation of said removingmeans from one container to another c0n tainer and for causing saidremoving means to act successively upon one or more of said containersduring the formation of a single heel.

34, A heel building machine having, in combination, a container adaptedto retain a stack of heel lifts, means for successively removing aplurality of heel lifts from said stack and assembling them to form aheelpile, and means for securing together the component lifts of saidheel-pile.

THOMAS LUND.

